Hanuman narrates the story of Rama

From the previous article in conversation with Bhima, Hanuman continued, “To do the work of Sri Ramchandra, I jumped more than a hundred jojans over the sea to Lanka. Here, I entered the palace of King Ravana. There I saw the daughter of King Janaka, who looked like a goddess. After meeting Sita, the beloved wife of Rama, I started to burn the city. Chanting the holy name of Sri Rama I burnt their forts, towers, and doorways.”

“After hearing my story, Lord Rama conferred with Sugriva and decided to build a bridge across the sea. With more than a million monkeys, Sri Rama built the bridge and crossed into Lanka. There in a terrible battle, all the demons including King Ravana, his sons, and his brother were killed. After killing the demons, Sri Rama put Vibhishana, Ravana’s younger brother, on the throne of Lanka. Vibhishana worshipped Sri Rama, was religious and full of love for his people.”

“Sri Rama, together with his pure and pious wife Sita, then returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya. When the people were reinstalling Sri Rama as their king, I asked the lord for a boon. I asked that as long as people recited his story from generation to generation, I would live. He granted my wish. Sri Rama ruled Ayodhya for eleven thousand years and then left this earth. Since then I live in this spot. O pure one, everyday many apasaras and gandharvas gather here and sing songs and dance on the virtues and deeds of Llord Rama. This gives me great pleasure and satisfaction. O Pandava, this spot cannot be visited by ordinary mortals and that is why I blocked your path. I did not want any of the gods to curse you. You came this way to look for the divine lotuses; the lake there is full of them.”

Bhima was so thrilled to meet his elder brother, Hanuman. He bowed down and paid homage to him. In sweet words he said, “I have been graced with your divine presence. There is none more fortunate than me. Please do something to please me. I want to see the grand form you took when you jumped over the sea filled with man-eating fish. This will give me great satisfaction and help me forever to trust your word.”

Hanuman said, “No human, including you, can see that form of mine. Those were different times, the age was different. Now things have changed. In the three Ages Sat, Dwapar, and Treta, the quality of Time was different. This is the Age of Destruction. That magnificent form of mine no longer exists. Land, rivers, mountains, peaks, the powerful saints, the gods and rishis all have to change according to the quality and emotion of the Age and Time. Vitality, the type of body and its influence all grow and decay according to the Age. I have to now follow the Time of this Age and so cannot take on that body. So please forget about seeing that form of mine. I cannot deny the dictates of Time.”